This race report is long overdue…I’ve been meaning to get to
it for months, but finally found some downtime to put thoughts to paper…or blog
in this case.
The decision to run the Chicago Marathon was based solely on
the fact that it is premiere race (and headquarters) of Imerman Angels. I focused a lot of my time on energy on
raising funds and awareness for Imerman Angels in 2013 and it paid big
dividends…with the help of friends and family, we raised over $3000 for Imerman
Angels, which equates to just over 9 connections for cancer fighters or
caregivers. Equally important, as a
result of spreading awareness here in Ottawa, 2 new Ottawa based mentor Angels
were recruited and many friends are continuing to spread the word to those they
know who have been affected by cancer.
Training was a bit of a challenge this year, balancing
cycling events, triathlon, shorter distance races with family and friends and
an ever accumulating fatigue from the training and in hind sight a general lack
of focus.
Race Weekend:
Since I was headed to the Home of Imerman Angels, I booked
some extra time on either side of the Marathon, arriving early Friday
afternoon, and staying until mid-day the day after the marathon.
After getting settled in on Friday, I headed over to the
race expo to volunteer at the Imerman Angels booth where I got to meet the
Incredibly Energetic Khitam. Khit is a 2
time cancer survivor, Mentor Angel, member of the Imerman Angels professionals
board and is incredibly passionate about the mission of Imerman Angels and
spreading awareness…she makes me feel like a sloth with her boundless
energy! Oh and she was going to be
running her first marathon on Sunday too J
As luck would have it, my good friend and Mentor Angel,
Derek works in Chicago AND his boss has season tickets to the Black Hawks! His boss, generously offered to take us
along, he’s a great guy, who loves his Chicago teams and knows everything about
them! We saw a great game (which Chicago
won) had some great food and got to hang out for the evening, great way to stay
relaxed.
One of the BEST things about this weekend was that my
friends Dave & Elaine came to cheer me on (they brought Doot too)! We met up on Saturday evening with Ben, Steven
and Jennifer and headed over to the Team Imerman Angels dinner where we got to
meet up with staff, volunteers and many of the Team Imerman Angels members who
I would be running with the next day.
After that it was early to bed in preparation for race day.
Race Day:
The goal for this race was to finally break the 4:30:00
barrier (more on that later). The
forecast called for a chilly start to the race (8C) with the day getting
progressively warmer (17C) for the finish.
The morning started with my normal pre-race meal, oatmeal
and a banana and then a quick cab ride to the Charity Village to meet up with
Team Imerman Angels and all of the volunteers and staff who we busy preparing
pre and post-race refereshments and treats for us.
Joan (Team Imerman Angels director) was on-site taking
charge and making sure that everyone was accounted for, photographed, got their
wings (see photo) and generally in the right state of mind (and body) to head
out for their marathon challenge.
It was GREAT to get to meet so many people who had a
connection with Imerman Angels and had decided to fundraise and train to run
the Chicago marathon…a first marathon for many of the team. One of the people I
met (in person finally) was Pascale an expat Canadian (see photo)
As we were walking over to the start line with the team and
figuring out what corrals we were assigned to, we also started talking
expected/goal times and informally sorted ourselves into groups that would run
together for as long as our pace would let us.
The group of four I started with included Anthony, Becky and Pascale…us
Canucks need to stick together ya’ know J
I’m not sure how or when we came up with this, but as we ran
past each mile marker, we would call out the mile number followed by Ah, Ah,
Ah…very Sesame street of us…hey you do what you gotta’ to keep yourself distracted during a marathon.
The crowd support was amazing!!! I can’t remember the exact
number but there were people and signs everywhere…and a few personal
connections along the way too.
We got to see…actually hear then see Pascale’s mom several
times during the race, she is a real ball of energy and just what you need when
your own energy is waning, it was touching to see Pascale and her mom run
together as they spotted each other and her mom checked in to make sure she was
doing well.
Mile 13 was my energy boost as I got to see Dave, Elaine and
Doot and get some high fives and a hug along with an acknowledgement from
Elaine that I was ahead of pace…woohoo!!
I know I saw Dave, Elaine and Doot again and I think it was
around mile 17, but my mind is a bit hazy on this one…their smiles, cheers and
signs we a fantastic boost and helped me re-focus on the goal.
Mile 18(ish) was the only spot where the crowd support was
thin…it’s in a business park and I am sure getting public transit there is a
bit of a challenge, but you sure feel it when you don’t have the energy of the
crowd to draw on, thankfully we had Pascale’s mom, with her exuberant cheers
and her run along with Pascale to keep us going until we got to the crowds
again..
I don’t remember exactly where the group started to split as
we each began budgeting our energy and pace to make sure that we would cross
the finish line upright and smiling, but at some point we all ended up running
our own races.
I’m not sure if it was being out there alone, the lack of
focus in training or the accumulated mileage, but somewhere around the 35k
mark, things started to go downhill. My
pace was slipping, my energy was waning and the negative self-talk was
starting. I was becoming more and more
certain that I was not going to make my goal time and started “letting” myself
take more frequent and longer walk breaks…telling myself I wasn’t going to make
the goal anyway..beginning to question why I was out here but catching myself
each time I let my chin drop to my chest and felt dejected, my eyes saw the
Imerman Angels logo on my jersey …and I would remind myself of what the
survivors and cancer fighters I know have and are going through and that I got
to choose to be out here, that I was raising awareness with each person who saw
the jersey and making connections with the funds raised.
It wasn’t going to get me back on track for my goal time,
but it was enough to get me started running each time knowing that I could
finish this.
I must have looked especially dejected after the last water
station somewhere around mile 25, because as I was walking and moping, another
marathon runner, a complete stranger ran up behind me, tapped me on the
shoulder and said “come on Brent, you’ve got this!” (our names are on the back
of our jerseys), he then proceeded to run with me up to the 26 mile marker
where he said “you’ve got this, you look strong now run it in! I’ve got to go
run in some friends” and he was gone…I LOVE that about running! Thank you
complete stranger!!
I did manage to run in the last .2 without assistance J to cross the finish
line in a time of 4:40:58. I got my
bling, my mylar blanket and I swore that I was taking a year off of this
marathon thing!
Post Race:
The walk from the finish line to Charity Village was about
1k which was a good thing (except for the stairs on the way out of the park) as
I needed to keep moving.
As I got to Charity Village, I was greeted with smiles, hugs
and congratulations from Dave, Elaine and Doot…it was soooo Great to have some
familiar faces there after a very tough finish and a disappointing result.
Perspective is everything and friends sure help you gain that quickly!
Post-race (post-shower) activities included a visit to
Burke’s Bacon Bar (is anyone surprised) for a light snack with Dave, Elaine,
Doot and a few of Dave & Elaine’s friends as well as a walk to Navy Pier to
kill some time before meeting up with Ben, Steven (who also ran the marathon..super
fast I might add), Jennifer and a few more of Dave and Elaine’s friends for
Deep Dish pizza…and it was GOOOD!!!
Lesson learned:
Ya’ gotta respect the distance. In hindsight, I think that I was too casual
about this race, with it being my 5th I was possibly too relaxed…I
didn’t feel the normal pre-race nerves leading up to the race or even at the
start line, which should have been a sign.
Although I was a little disappointed when I realized I
wasn't going to make my time goal, I am grateful for the gift of fitness and for
my amazing family and friends who are always so supportive!
Next up:
This year’s focus will be on triathlon and my first half
iron distance in particular, I’m also hoping to PB in the ½ marathon distance
in the fall, so it promises to be a fun, tough summer. I hope to be more consistent about my blog
entries too, so that you can all track my progress on my goals both in events
and in fundraising/awareness for Imerman Angels.
If you’re in Ottawa, drop me a line and let’s get a swim,
ride or run in together!
